Regional Presence

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St. Kizito Clinic in Lagos, Nigeria, has been busy going beyond the daily operations of a busy health clinic and providing public health workers with training on “Women’s Health Education”, sponsored by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Poverty Alleviation of Lagos State. Since 2006, St. Kizito Clinic has trained 286 people.

With the goal of improving prevention of uterine cervical cancer, which falls within the scope of Women’s Health Education, the Ministry of Health has sought the technical support of St. Kizito Clinic which is considered a pioneer in a particular screening method (VIA/VILI) that is simple, cost-effective and produces immediate results. In addition to the screening method, St. Kizito also treats pre-cancerous tissues with cyrotherapy. The course offered by AVSI follows the training guidelines set by the WHO (five days of intensive theory and practical sessions, plus five days of clinical work) and is supervised by the Dr. Rose Anorlu, Professor of Oncological Gynecology and well-known abroad for her leadership in the field.

In 2010, three sessions of the training course were held in February, April and October, with 105 participants in total. At the conclusion of the last session on October 8, 2010, a Closing Ceremony was held at which numerous political figures were in attendence, among them the Chairwoman of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Poverty Alleviation of Lagos State. A number of media outlets also covered the event.

Dr. Alda Gemmani, Medical Director of St. Kizito Clinic, stressed the fact that Nigeria lacks a national policy supporting public education and screening of cervical cancer among women.